Deceptions
by The-New-Wordsmith
Summary: When SG teams suddenly discover that the Goa'uld are waiting for them at every turn it becomes vital that the leak of imformation is quikly found and plugged. Every effort is made but it it's only a matter of time before something goes very badly wrong.


**Sorry this took so long folks. I really hope you enjoy it.**

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" Walter's familiar voice resonated through the base as a huge blue wave cascaded into the gate-room with its usual whooshing noise as a dozen airmen raised their weapons towards the device. Walter gave a quiet yet irritated sigh as Major Carter virtually jumped down the stairs from the briefing room and was instantly peering over his shoulder. So some guy somewhere out there in the vast expanse of the galaxy had sprained his ankle and was dialling home for a bandage and a few days sick leave. It was his job to open and close the iris and he didn't need someone breathing down his neck to do it. There was little time to dwell on this however because the speakers then crackled into life and Colonel Reynolds' IDC registered on the monitor in front of him. "This is Reynolds , we're coming in hot and we've got injured!" Walter's practised hand immediately opened the iris and then made for a button that would signal a medical team to hurry to the gate-room, only to find, to his minor annoyance, that Major Carter had already pressed it. General Hammond had by now arrived on the scene and was already barking into the microphone "Defence teams stand by!"

Moments later Major Beckles appeared in the gate-room dragging the unconscious and bloodied form of Captain Malling closely followed by Major Sait and Colonel Reynolds , who backing away from the gate with a 9ml. trained on it having lost his P-90. A single Jaffa hurtled trough the gate just before the iris closed only to be cut down instantaneously by the last two rounds in the Colonels clip as they drilled through the unfortunate slaves chest and ruptured his heart and lungs. Just to be sure, Sait put a few extra holes in him as he collapsed writhing onto the ramp.

There were several audible thuds on the iris in the few seconds it was before the gate shut down. General Hammond dodged passed the medical team as the trundled out at high speed, and proceeded towards Reynolds . "I'm guessing that the trade negotiations with the Galgronans didn't exactly go according to plan."

"No sir. The hostiles were waiting for us about a click from the gate. 'Was a hell of a run back, Malling was hit while dialling."

Hammond sighed, "We'll debrief at eighteen hundred, let's hope Malling is back on his feet by then."

Jack and Teal'c were sitting in the mess when Sam joined them looking slightly out of tune with the rest of the world. Jack spoke first, "'Hear SG3 came in hot this morning, any hits?"

Sam looked up from her meal, "Hmm?"

"SG3, what happened?"

"Oh, um, Malling took a staff blast but he's expected to make a full recovery."

"Perhaps he would appreciate a gift of some kind," Teal'c chipped in.

Jack was quick off the mark, "No no. Teal'c presents are for birthdays, flowers are for when someone's sick. You can send Malling some flowers."

"Surely if he has been injured in battle then he is not sick as such as he has not contracted an infection or biological ailment of any kind. He has merely obtained damage to his body."

Jack paused, couldn't think of anything to say to this and so said, "Would you look at that, I'm out of fruit juice," before making a dash for the door. Sam didn't appear to have registered any of this and continued to stare at her toast as if it might tell her what she wanted to know. Teal'c cleared his throat and she looked up. "Is something troubling you Major Carter?" he asked.

She looked up again, "What do you mean?"

"You appear to be paying little attention to the environment around you. This is generally a sign that you are seeking an answer that is evading you."

Sam opened her mouth, closed it again and then went on to say, "I was just thinking, SG3's been attacked twice in the last month, then there was the ambush SG9 were caught up in on Thursday and last week we encountered Jaffa on a perfectly everyday recon mission to L7N 334."

"What is it that you are suggesting?" Teal'c said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I dunno. Just...ah," She seemed to be struggling to find words. Teal'c came to the rescue.

"Do you suspect that someone on this base could be supplying intelligence to the Goa'uld?"

"Well that's the thing. I don't think anyone around here would ever give anything away. They don't even tell their families."

"Perhaps the blame lies with a civilian who has not received training in the skill of resisting interrogation."

"I don't think so. There are only a dozen or so civilians on SG teams and not many more currently off-world. Besides no one has been captured by the Goa'uld recently."

"Then perhaps a zatarg could be responsible."

Sam's eyes widened, "I gotta say, I hadn't thought of that. I mean we haven't encountered zatargs for years. "

"It seems that this may be worthy off discussion with General Hammond."

"You bet it is," Sam got quickly to her feet, "Thanks a lot Teal'c."

"You are most welcome Major Carter."

Hammond closed the door to the briefing from behind him with perhaps a little more force than was required. In the Armed forces, it was not uncommon to think that one's own job was the most important. But how could catering possibly justify that they get some of the scientific research budget? He eased himself into his large leather chair and allowed himself to relax for a moment. He then reached for his phone and pressed the speed dial button. But just as his finger was hovering over the number one button, there was a knock at the door. He sighed. His grandchildren would have to wait. "Come."

Sam eased the door open. "Major Carter, come in have a seat."

"Thank you sir," She closed the door behind her and sat down in one of the chairs opposite the general. He spoke first.

"I've just been talking to the catering staff; they want some of your research budget."

Sam looked startled, "With all due respect sir-

"There not gonna get twenty five cents of your funds Major, don't worry. Now, I'm guessing this isn't a social call."

"No sir. There is something I need to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"Well, as I'm sure you've noticed sir, SG teams have been being ambushed off-world with increasing frequency these past two months."

"Do you think you know why?"

"Yes sir, I think a zatarg might be responsible."

The General nearly choked on his coffee. "A zatarg?"

"Yessir."

Hammond paused for a moment then said, "I was under the impression that zatargs could only be ordered to carry out simple instructions before becoming suicidal. Besides, we haven't encountered zatargs for the past several years, the pentagon all my other superiors were under the impression that the technology had been discarded."

Major Carter made the half grimace that meant _"You've spotted the flaw in my idea." _She then uneasily confessed, "That would be the problem with this assumption sir and it's exactly what I thought. But isn't it possible that the gou'uld have been developing the technology to be able to input more complex instructions?"

Hammond had no idea whether or not this was possible so he frowned and responded, "You tell me."

The Major hesitated, "Well sir... we've never studied zatarg technology in detail ourselves and I've never even examined the research the Tok'ra have done. There's no real way to judge without knowing more about the technology. I'd like to call in the Tok'ra."

"Very well, use the Tolan signalling device to contact them ASAP."

Sam got up to leave looking relieved, "Thank you sir. Oh, I would also advise that all off-world teams be recalled immediately."

"Agreed, thank you major." Major Carter nodded then left. General Hammond sat back for one moment and sighed. His grandchildren would definitely have to wait.

For the eighth time in twenty minutes, the Stargate whooshed into life. Sergeant Christopher Burton had always felt a thrill when this occurred when he first joined the Stargate program. You could never be sure, hostile forces might pour through the gate at any moment and if they did, it would be up to him and his squad to make sure they didn't get any further. But after the a few months, guarding the gate room had become just like any other sentry duty. Only the merest drop of adrenalin went to his body as the massive blue wave cascaded into the gate room but he followed his orders and always kept his magazine full and his finger tight around the trigger of his M16.

All the off-world teams were being recalled which would add up to having to hold his weapon steady for at least ten minutes. Though like all men in his field of employment he did his best to keep himself fit, his arm was still starting to ache. He heard his radio, tuned into the frequency used by the SGC, crackle into life. "SGC, this is SG9, confirm you are receiving IDC. Over."

"Confirmed, come on home SG9," another voice responded.

"Copy that."

Moments later, the familiar squelch of the Stargate's event horizon could be heard and Sergeant Burton immediately knew something was wrong. Something he had always credited himself for was the speed of his reactions and what he saw appear on the ramp before him was not a figure, but a small roundish object. He was lucky. He was positioned kneeling behind a small wall of sand bags and, as soon as he recognised the threat, dropped straight to the floor.

He was blinded by a tremendous white flash and he felt utterly numb. A hideous, piercing wail filled his ears. He had been hit by flash bangs and various other immobilising weapons before but this was just a different league. He started to feel the concrete floor again and he began to see the shape of his legs. The Stargate! He raised his head and peered over the top of the sand bag wall. The gate seemed dazzlingly bright and everything was blurred but as he watched, a dark figure appeared in the blue haze. It was carrying a long, thin object; a staff weapon! At this point, his basic training took over as a little voice in the back of his head said _"Hostile at twelve o'clock!"_ Burton forced his weapon upwards, over the barrier and fired. It was a lucky shot. The first few bullets went askew but then one found its mark and drilled into the Jaffa's temple. He was dead before he hit the ramp. A second figure appeared, just as unaware as the danger as the first and was caught in the shoulder by another fluke shot. He stumbled and fell back into the event horizon, where he was disintegrated.

Three more Jaffa came and fell and Burton knew that when his magazine ran out, which it had to be soon, he would not be able to replace it in time. In the corner of his eye he spotted Private Wilds who was slumped, unconscious, at a 50cal. heavy machine gun. The sergeant forced himself to his feet and threw himself sideways and half collapsed before wrapping his fingers around the handle of the 50cal. His vision was returning to normal and he hauled himself upwards behind the gun. Fate was on his side as there was slight break in the wave of Jaffa but he knew that more would arrive soon. He trained the Heavy machine gun on the gate and prepared himself for the fire fight of his life. More figures appeared and he fired on them. They kept coming. He kept firing. At the next pause, he punched the button on the side of his radio and yelled, "This is Burton, I need immediate support in the gateroom!" Nothing. Burton cut down the next five or six Jaffa before yelling once more, "Repeat, this is Burton. I'm running outta' ammo, WHERE THE F*** IS MY SUPPORT!" He lost track of how many he killed. By the time the next pause came all his senses had been fully restored. Another single Jaffa came through. He fired again. He met his target and the attacker was killed but the 50cal. stopped shooting before he took his hand off the trigger. The sergeant was out of rounds. Two more Jaffa came through the gate. He went for his M9. He didn't get very far. He knew he had put a bullet in one of them somewhere because he heard a roar of pain but that didn't mean he had won. The second Jaffa hit him squarely in the abdomen with a staff blast and everything went black.


End file.
